Thursday, March 01, 2007

Days Inn, Rapa River, River Park

On Day 2 in Tucson, we went to the Days Inn, Rapa River, RiverPark (formerly Pueblo Inn in the morning. Amazing shows and hard to see everything! We actually got there a little early (still on east coast time) and many of the vendors were just starting to open. One funny thing that happened was going to a pearl dealer there. I picked out a few pearls including one neat one that showed the growth patterns. I asked what the total there and of the 4 people standing there, none of them could help me. Turned out the one lady who knew how to price the pearls was still at breakfast. I am not sure of the point of the other "helpers"... oh well, never did get back there for my pearls.

One of the great things about gem and mineral shows is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Just at this one show we met people from Nigeria, Russia, Thailand, China, Brazil, Afghanistan and more.

Here are some photos from Days Inn:

As with most of the shows in Tucson, this show was both in the rooms, out in tents, and in the "ballroom."

Some gorgeous rock sculptures. I love the way they are inspired by the natural shape and colors of the stone to create these landscapes.

Dev checking out some rough.

An amber dealer's booth.. it was just stunning when the light hit it.Big ol' hunks of malachite.